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A new survey has found that the days of the ‘supermum’ are gone – today’s Gen Y mums – those born after 1980 – are more relaxed and flexible.

The Fisher-Price survey found that more than half of Aussie mums says their biggest priority in an average day is spending time with their child playing and helping them to develop, over day-to-day chores such as washing and cooking the dinner (18%) or sticking to their child’s routine (15%).

In a clear shift in parenting style, the Fisher-Price survey finds that nearly three-quarters of Gen Y mums would describe themselves as flexible or preferring to ‘go with the flow’, a far cry from the previous generation who described themselves as structured.

Parenting expert Fiona Baker says: “It’s great if mums are putting less pressure on themselves to do everything so they can cherish every moment with their little one and enjoy every step of their development.”

The survey also uncovered the rollercoaster of emotions that new mums feel. The things that made them feel most overjoyed as a mum were the cuddles and kisses from a little one (37%) and feeling unconditional love (28%). Understandably, they find the constant juggling of activities (24%), having no time to themselves (23%) and being overtired (21%) overwhelming at times.

So what do women – at least, new mums – really want? An night’s sleep (32%) or a rare opportunity to pamper themselves (41%). Hubbies, are you listening?

Interestingly, a third of new mums across all age groups now prefer to look to online communities over friends or mum’s groups when feeling overwhelmed. While new mums turned to family members first (53%), they sought advice in real-time via social media.

And Gen Y mums love sharing their parenting experiences on Facebook, with nearly 90% turning to Facebook – what would we do without it!

“As a mum and a parenting journalist, I have definitely seen a shift in the way that today’s new mums get the help and engagement they need,” says Fiona. “With the abundance of easily-accessed information on parenting around as well as the chance to gain support from online communities new mums can take a more relaxed but informed approach to motherhood.”